


Trouble Seems to Follow

by TheVagabondBoy



Series: Even the Devil’s Been An Angel [2]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anal Sex, Angst, Angst and Feels, Barry hating on Lady Gaga, Barry is kind of a jerk, Childhood Trauma, Dark!Barry Allen, Feels, Flashbacks, Flashbacks Galore, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Harrison Wells is a Jerk, Hes kind of an asshole, Hurt No Comfort, Hurt!Mick, I'm Sorry, Legit so many flashback this is the first of many, M/M, ONLY PAIN AS FAR AS THE EYE CAN SEE, Sad, Threesome - M/M/M, Trauma, all the feels, all the pain in the world, but hes not in the best headspace, hurt!Len, i am sad trash, its ok theyre important for plotpurposes dont question it, like for all of this, so maybe that kind of justifies it a little i dont know, sorry gaga-fans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-09
Updated: 2016-06-19
Packaged: 2018-07-14 02:18:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 14,991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7148321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheVagabondBoy/pseuds/TheVagabondBoy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Barry tries to cope, but it doesn't really work.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Satisfied, But Guilty as Hell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Here's a link to a spotify playlist that contains all the songs that I've taken my chapter titles from! Unlike the one for 'The Good, The Bad and The Dirty', songs are still being added to this one so I think you should follow it, just so you can stay up to date and listen to some great music when you're readin this thing! <3  
> http://tinyurl.com/troublefollows
> 
> (All the songs are in the order they 'appear', just so you know!)

_Title from: One More Night, by Chester See and Alex G_

_(Originally by Maroon 5)_

 

The club was dark.

It was good, though. Barry could pretend. He could pretend nothing was wrong. He could pretend that the guy hitting on him was Mick. He had a similar physique, and his voice sounded sort of like Micks. Barry sank a few more drinks before he took the guys hand and pulled him towards the bathrooms.

He fucked Barry against the door of a stall.

His hands were strong, the grip was like Micks, but they didn’t feel like him on Barry’s skin. There were no callouses or burns. They were too smooth and soft.

His voice was low; swearing in Barry’s ear about how tight and good he was, but it sounded nothing like Mick had. There was none of the same affection, or gentleness Mick had showed him.

The guy treated Barry like a hole to be fucked. Barry had no problem with that, per se. He was glad for the momentary distraction the rush of an orgasm gave him. But Mick had treated him like…Barry didn’t even know what. He had been so kind and gentle, and made love to Barry and to Len, given them every part of himself.

When the guy was finished, he flushed the condom down the toilet and pressed a hundred-dollar bill into Barry’s hand before Barry got a word in about it.

Barry bought himself a last beer before leaving the club, and picked up a pack of smokes on the walk home.


	2. Together Forever Through-ever Whatever

_Title from: This Will Be (An Everlasting Love), by Natalie Cole_

 

_Mick was pressing warm kisses into Barry’s chest when Barry woke up. He looked down at Mick with a sleepy smile, and Mick smiled back._

_Len lay beside Barry, his arm having become a substitute for Barry’s pillow. He smiled as well, and kissed Barry’s head._

_"Good morning, criminals." Len muttered._

_Barry actually laughed at that, and Mick chuckled against Barry’s chest. Mick shuffled up to kiss Barry’s lips, soft and chaste, before dropping his entire body onto him and Len. They groaned as the air was punched out of their lungs by Micks weight._

_"Oh, God, get off!" Barry grunted, pushing at Mick, but was smiling still._

_Mick shook his head as best he could but didn’t move an inch. "Never!" he said. "Don’t wanna get up."_

_"But I need to pee!" Len argued, from the bottom of the pile._

_Mick let out a dramatic sigh. He got his arms around Barry and dragged the kid with him as he rolled over onto his back, landing Barry on top of him and freeing Len. Barry laughed at the move but easily settled into a comfortable position with his ear over Micks heart. Len shuffled out of bed, hurrying to the connected bathroom without putting on as much as a pair of underwear. As the door closed behind him, Mick ran his hands down Barry’s back and hugged him tightly._

_"Barry, I got a question for ya "_

_Mick whole chest seemed to rumble as he spoke._

_"Yeah?" Barry said, lifting his head to look his arsonist in the eye._

_"You gotta answer honestly." Mick added._

_Barry nodded, though he was feeling slightly hesitant. What question could Mick want an honest answer to? Barry prayed silently that the question wouldn’t compromise him._

_"Okay." he said._

_"D’you really wanna leave?" Mick asked. "After the job, I mean. You could stay, y'know? With us."_

_Barry’s heart sped up at the prospect._

_Mick ran his rough hands through Barry’s hair, one continued down along his neck as the other settled on Barry’s cheek._

_"You ain’t gotta feel like shit cause of this city, Barr. Some people fucked you over and that ain’t your fault." Mick continued, eyes cast down at Barry’s lips instead of his eyes. Almost as if he was embarrassed by what he was saying. "With us, you could take it all back. Show the people you ain’t to be fucked with no more."_

_Barry exhaled a breath of relief._

_He lay his head back against Micks chest._

_"I…I’m not sure." he said. "I wanna be with you. I do, I swear I want nothing more in the world. But I’m so tired, Mick."_

_Mick hugged him just a little tighter._

_"All these memories, and all the bad things that’ve happened here. I can’t take it anymore."_

_Barry wasn’t sure if he was lying or telling the truth. The lines were blurring and Barry had a hard time telling the difference anymore._

_"Then we’ll come with you." came from behind them._

_"_ _Len?" Barry said, looking for the man._

_Len stood by the door to the bathroom, naked as the day he was born._

_"If you want to leave, we won’t stop you." Len said as he crossed the room. "We won’t ever stop you from doing what you want."_

_He crawled into their bed and lay on his side next to Mick, looking up at Barry with such sincerity in his eyes that Barry had never seen before._

_"But…that doesn’t mean we have to let you do it on your own." Len continued. "So if you’ll have us, we’ll come with you."_

_"Len…of course I’ll have you." Barry said, a smile filling his face again. "I’ll always have you, Len. Mick. Both of you. Always and forever."_

_He practically jumped on Len, catching the criminal’s lips in an impulse kiss. The move threw Len over on his back, with Barry landing right on top of him._

_Barry was so incredibly in love with these two men, and at the moment he didn’t give a shit about anything else in the world. If he just had Mick and Len, everything else would be fine._

_Mick moved around for a moment, then Barry inhaled sharply as he felt two cold finger pressing against his opening. A moan came out of him, right into Lens lips. Barry got up on his knees and Mick could ease his fingers into him. Some moments later, Barry was so ready, so eager, he couldn’t wait anymore; he couldn’t wait for Mick to finish prepping him. He wanted them so badly, he just needed them._

_Barry eased himself onto Lens cock, and felt Mick move his hand down to find Lens hole instead. In a minute, less than it, in no time at all, Mick guided his cock into Len, breathing heavily into Barry’s ear._

_Fuck, it was so good, Barry was unable to form a coherent thought. Mick had his arms around Barry and held him so close, and whispered in his ear as he fucked into Len and helped Barry to ride him._

_“So good, Barry. So goddamn beautiful.” Mick muttered. “Like this, an’ always so beautiful for us. Just for us.”_

_Barry keened as Mick rough hands moved over his body and Len fucked into him and they were so good around him._

_“Fuck, Mick, yes!” he begged. “For you, just you. God, yes, just you.”_

_Len sat up as best he could, supporting himself on one hand and dragged Barry to him with the other. The kiss was absolutely filthy; it was wet and messy, but just so completely perfect. Barry couldn’t even breathe. Mick and Len were so completely perfect all around Barry at once, they were wrapped around him like a blanket made of Heaven itself no matter how stupid that sounded in Barry’s head._

_Barry never what to leave that moment of bliss._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this and I just NEEDED to post it because omg the feels i am so close to crying right now and wow sex-scene also it's like 3 am here and i cant sleep so yeah enjoy


	3. The People Who Care If I Live or Die

_Title from: Starlight, by Muse_

 

Wearing suits always made Barry uncomfortable.

The only thing he could think of was Joe, clipping a black tie onto Barry’s collar, and leading Barry out of the house to go to Nora’s funeral.

Now it was for a supposedly joyous occasion; the S.T.A.R Labs particle accelerator being turned on for the first time. Barry was no longer sure he wanted to go, when he looked at himself in the mirror in his bedroom. The suit was…handsome, he guessed. It made him look handsome.

He didn’t feel like it, like he was handsome. His body was still sore from 'Mick' fucking him. The bruises from his hands on Barry’s hips were still fresh and dark. If he felt like it, Barry would go out again that night, after the event. He would find himself a Len for the night, and play pretend again.

It was good. They were all good. The sex was good, and Barry was distracted.

It was good, but it wasn’t _good enough_.

Barry wanted, _needed_ the real thing. He needed to lay between Mick and Len again, just to listen to Micks heart and feel Lens hands pulling him closer.

He should have gone with Len, two months ago. He should have gone and searched for Mick and Lisa, and fallen to his knees to beg their forgiveness. Len had spoken to him, at least. Kissed him, even. Still, Barry knew that that was far from forgiveness. Len had, for that very short time, needed Barry’s help, and had made the logically sound choice of accepting the offered help. If he hadn’t, it was a good bet he would still, and for forever, be locked away in a well-guarded concrete box at Iron Heights.

Barry tied his tie and flattened it against his chest. He stared at himself in the mirror. No, this wouldn’t do. He couldn’t stand to look at himself dressed like that.

Barry practically ripped the suit off of himself, throwing it aside. He would just wear…anything else, as long as it wasn’t a suit.

*

Iris dragged him along through the crowd of people. Barry did his best to smile every time she looked at him. It was still a bit hard, though, to get excited and happy. He tried his hardest to not be a 'wet blanket' as Iris had called him once. This was something he had looked forward to since before this whole thing got started; before going undercover, before Mick and Len. It was a huge deal! A particle accelerator in his very own backyard? _Huge_! _Amazing, and fantastic._

Barry just couldn’t find that same energy and excitement again.

*

Barry threw his keys down on his desk and took off his jacket. He kind of wanted to thank that would-be purse-snatcher. After Detective Thawne, previously known as Detective whatever, had caught him, Iris wanted to go home. The Detective was glad to give her a ride and Barry could wallow, in peace.

He had already packed up most of his stuff at his office. There were still a few knick-knacks left to gather up, and he had to empty out his desk and the lockers.

The CCPD would get by without him. He wasn’t the _only_ CSI in the world, or anything. Joe had tried to talk him out of quitting, Iris and Singh had tried too. They all insisted that things would get better, that he just needed some time to process everything that had happened. Singh had offered Barry a few weeks of paid vacation, but Barry had countered it by handing in his resignation.

They didn’t get it. Not really. They tried, and Barry did appreciate that, but it didn’t help. They would probably never understand, not completely.

Barry had been, and was still, in love.

He didn’t want to be, and he would swear by it! He didn’t want to be in love with a pair of criminals! That, is what they didn’t understand, that he hadn’t just been acting in that footage Joe and Singh had seen. He hadn’t been acting when he kissed Mick, or when he absentmindedly ran his hands over Lens back as they sat around the kitchen table planning the Oppenheimer heist.

He had, already in Iron Heights, fallen for Mick and Len.

But Barry couldn’t be both.

He couldn’t be Barry Allen, CSI, if he was also Barry Allen, head over heels in love with Leonard Snart and Mick Rory. And he certainly couldn’t stay on after the stunt he pulled at the hospital.

Thunder clapped outside, shaking Barry from his head. Great, the storm was picking up. How the hell was he supposed to get home now? Oh, well, he still had the air mattress in one of the lockers, for when work dragged out into the late hours. Say what you will about Barry, but he was…he _had been_ very dedicated to his work.

That dedication was what had gotten him into this mess in the first place. If he had just cared a little less, he would never have been pulled into the orbit of two of the cities most feared and hated criminals.

Barry’s heart nearly stopped when he heard a loud boom, outside his windows. What the hell? _What the hell was that?_ S.T.A.R. Labs seemed to be going up in flames, the sky was alight with… _something_. It was definitively an explosion, but that didn’t look like flames.

Whatever it was, it looked bad, and people could be hurt. Barry had to do what he could to help. Maybe he could hitch a ride with one of the squad cars and help out with the evacuation; get people out of the epicentre of the disaster area, aid the EMTs or anything else they would need him to do.

First though, close the goddamn skylight he had left open before the whole precinct got flooded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy fuck, writing this thing makes me so sad because there's so much fucking angst going on, and Barry is so sad all the time. But I really think you're all gonna like it, I hope so at least :)  
> I'm at about eight chapters now, but I'm gonna stay slow with the posting so I have enough time to edit things and read through it all and all that stuff that I won't bore you with! <3


	4. Pull the Blackout Curtains Down

_Title from: Immortals, by Fall Out Boy_

 

_Barry leaned against the iron bars of his cell. The cool metal felt nice against his forehead. It shocked his tired body awake again._

_Three days at Iron Heights and not a minute of sleep._

_At least the shouting had stopped for the night. All the other cons seemed to have fallen asleep. Barry felt like he was about to collapse, his whole body begging him to go to sleep. He had tried, tossed and turned for hours before giving up. The bed was hard and uncomfortable, the sheets rough and scratchy. Every inch of his body itched as soon as he laid down._

_“Are you okay, Barry?”_

_Len was still awake?_

_Barry turned around. He could hardly see Len, the light from the guard station only illuminated the outline of his body in the top bunk._

_“Yeah.” Barry whispered. “Couldn’t sleep.”_

_"How long since you slept?" Len asked._

_Barry exhales softly. "Since I came here." he said. "It’s…"_

_"I know." Len said. "I always have trouble the first few days too, no matter how many times I’ve been here."_

_"How do you fall asleep?" Barry asked curiously._

_Len sat up. He slid out of his bunk, landing quietly on bare feet. He crawled into Barry’s bunk and waved at Barry to do the same._

_Barry knew it was a bad idea. Literally getting into bed with Leonard Snart was a_ phenomenally _bad idea. But Barry wanted to sleep. He wanted to close his eyes and just…fall asleep, even if that meant cuddling up next to Len._

_So Barry followed Lens lead, becoming the small spoon as Len wrapped his arms around him._

_Lens hand found Barry’s chest and began to rub small circles over his heart. He started humming, right into Barry’s ear. Barry recognized the melody, something out of a half-forgotten memory, and he could feel himself get heavier. His eyelids seem to weigh a ton. He couldn’t keep his eyes open anymore._

_When Barry woke up, Len was back in his own bunk again._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MORE FLASHBACKS FOR YOU


	5. It’s Like We’re Strangers Anyway

_Title from: If I Leave, by A Day to Remember_

 

“What are you doing?”

“He likes this song.”

_What…?_

_What was happening?_

_Who was talking?_

_Barry’s body felt incredibly heavy. His arms refused to move, and his eyes wouldn’t open._

“How could you possibly know that?”

_Why couldn’t he move?_

_Who were these people, talking over him as if he wasn’t even there?_

“I checked his Facebook page. I mean, he can hear everything, right?”

_Barry tried to open his mouth and make a noise, any noise, to let them know he was awake! Fuck, why wouldn’t his body just listen?!_

“Auditory functions are the last sensory faculties to degenerate.”

_Uch, Barry hated this song! He had never gotten around to unliking it, or whatever, after Iris got a hold of his phone and played an unfunny prank on him by messing with all his social medias._

It was as if that song playing in his ear was the last straw.

His eyes shot open and his body seemed to jolt with electricity, making him sit up in a flash.

“Oh my God!”

"Where am I?"

*

Barry stood on the sidewalk before Jitters. He could see Iris inside, mingling with the customers with a big smile on her face.

He knew he was supposed to go in, to hug her and show her that he was alive and well.

But he couldn’t bring himself to go in there.

His head was still spinning from all this! How was he supposed to be handling any of what had happened? Barry had been _struck by lightning, been in a coma for nine months, and apparently gotten a fucking six pack through that somehow._ What had happened since then, since that night?

Barry needed time to think. Just to get his shit back in order, before he dragged Iris and Joe into this. Specially Joe. They were still on the outs since Barry’s ‘mission’ and their fight-that-wasn’t-really-a-fight-but-just-Barry-being-an-idiot.

Barry wondered.

Had they heard about him? Mick and Len, had they heard about his accident and hospitalization? Had they been worried? Maybe they had been to visit him while he was in his coma. Barry doubted it. After what he did to them, he wasn’t expecting them to ever pay him any mind again.

Barry’s heart stuttered when Iris suddenly locked eyes with him through the glass doors.

Her jaw dropped to the floor. The thermos of coffee slipped out of her hand, as her eyes welled up.

_No, Barry couldn’t take this._

Barry turned on his toes and ran as fast as he could.

In the blink of an eye, he skid to a stop again, just inches from running face first into a brick wall. His heart pounded in his ears, louder and faster than ever before.

What the _hell_ just happened?

Barry stumbled out of the alley had somehow found his way into.

Wait…

South 46th Street?

What…? H-How…? _How?_ Jitters was back halfway across the city! Th-This wasn’t possible. It wasn’t possible. Barry was imagining things. He had to be.

He couldn’t possibly have gone that far that quick. He…he must have blacked out. A side-effect of the coma, aftershocks, _a fucking fugue state_! _Anything_ was more possible than the idea that Barry had ran across the city in just seconds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyo!! Hope yall like this chapter, because I kinda feel a little shaky on it, I'm not sure I really like it, so please do let me know what you think about it.  
> And I'm just about to start writing the TWELFTH chapter, and I'm coming up on the GOOD SHIT RIGHT THERE so stay tuned!!!  
> <3
> 
> P.S  
> I had the thought that maybe I should make a playlist each for these two fics, so you can listen to the songs the titles are from while you're reading. I can throw that together pretty quickly, if you want it, so let me know if you do!! <3


	6. I Will Love You 'til the Day We Die

_Title from: Golden, by Travie McCoy ft. Sia_

 

_Barry breathed slowly, his chest rising and falling in a mechanical rhythm._

_Len hated seeing him like this. He looked so fragile; the tubes and wires that were connected to him made it look as if he was on his deathbed. Then again, perhaps he was. Len had taken a look at his chart. Three cardiac arrests in as many days, just this week._

_It wasn’t his fault, but Len still blamed himself. Of course he did. If he had just made Barry come with him after the hospital, Barry wouldn’t even have been in the city when the storm hit. If Len had just opened his mouth and said 'come with me' Barry would have dropped everything for him, Len was sure of it._ How? _Because he would have done the exact same thing if Barry had told him to stay._

 _All this time they could have been together. They could have found Lisa together; they could have nursed Mick back to health_ together _._

_Len wouldn’t have had to spend every single night since they parted for the last time worrying himself sick about Barry._

_"He’s gonna be fine." Mick muttered beside Len._

_The lighter clicked in Micks hands as he flipped it open and closed over and over again._

_"'S a strong kid." Mick continued. "He'll make it."_

_Len nodded. He found Micks hand, intertwining their fingers. Len was so glad he had found Mick. He wouldn’t have made it through this without his arsonist, he wouldn’t have been able to sit there staring at Barry’s pale not-quite-corpse._

_"It’s almost eight o'clock." Len said after checking his watch. "We should go before Iris gets here."_

_Mick grunted in response. He allowed Len to help him stand up. Mick prided himself in healing quickly from most injuries but even four months after the explosion, his body was still sore and every inch of his skin ached._

_"Go wait in the car." Len said. "I’ll go get some more supplies. We’re running low on burn ointment again."_

_"Don’t gimme that look, Lenny." Mick muttered without even having to look at him. "I ain’t checkin’ myself in."_

_Len sighed, crossing his arms over his chest. "You could." he reminded. "You know I’d get you out as soon as you were well enough again."_

_"I ain’t checkin’ myself in." Mick growled._

_He threw the door open and stormed out of Barry’s private room. Len sighed once more as the door slammed shut._

_Mick was a stubborn asshole who didn’t know what was best for him. But, that was also, in a way, a lot of what Len adored about him. Len hated it at times, but he wouldn’t change it for the world._

_Len kissed Barry’s forehead and squeezed his hand, before leaving to go raid a supply closet._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM SO SAD  
> i'm just about to write the reunion between Barry and Len, and Mick comes in quite soon after that so I am super emotional right now  
> I really, really hope you're all liking this fic, because I love writing it and sharing it with you!  
> <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3  
> also, MORE FLASHBACKS!!!!


	7. But Melt Your Headaches, Call It Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter, because I just need you to read this fic because I am so in love with it <3

_Title from: Northern Downpour, by Panic! At The Disco_

 

Joe and Iris had moved him out of his apartment and back into their house while he was in the coma. All his things were still boxed up in his old bedroom. Barry understood the impulse to want to have him at home again when he woke up, but that didn’t mean he agreed with it.

If he was that close to them, they wouldn’t stop babying him. After the coma that Barry was still kind of having trouble processing, it would be even worse. They wouldn’t leave him alone. Barry knew how it sounded; it sounded like he was an asshole who couldn’t accept his familys attempts to help. That wasn’t it. He was grateful for them, he always had been, but they still didn’t get it. Any of it.

They didn’t understand that Barry felt like he was failing everyone he cared about; he was failing Joe, Iris, Henry, Nora, and the entire CCPD by being in love with Mick and Len, and he was failing Mick and Len by pretending he wasn’t, by pretending they weren’t so deeply worked into his head that he could barely think about anything else.

Barry grabbed a load of his clothes and the important things he could find among the boxes, then left again before Iris came looking for him.

*

It was a longshot.

If they were even in the city, it was unlikely that Mick and Len would be hiding out at the garage again.

But there Barry was, staring up at the, to the outside world, abandoned garage he had dreamt off since he was thrown out of it.

The door wasn’t locked, but it creaked and whined when Barry pushed it open.

"Hello?" he called out into the dark rooms.

There was no reply. They weren’t there.

He walked further in. He managed to find the light switch by the passage into the living area, but no lights came on. Hm, no power. Barry lit his way with his phone instead. The kitchen was dusty, old dirty dishes having grown moldy in the sink. No one had been there in nearly a year.

The blueprints of the museum were still laid out over the kitchen table. Beneath the layer of dust, Barry could see the scrawled notes in Lens handwriting and a few he remembered Lewis making.

Barry set his one small box and lone backpack aside there. He had to get the power on before doing anything else.

Out back, Barry found the power converter. The place was still hooked up to the cities power network, but Len had probably pulled the plug before leaving for the heist. He had planned to come back with Mick to torch the place, that much Barry knew, but that plan had fallen through after everything. Barry stared at the converter for a moment; he dug as far back into his memory as he could. He had been there to hold the flashlight as Len had first turned the power on. If he could remember what Len had done…

_There!_

The lights came back on inside the garage. At least Barry would have power. He could figure out the rest later.

*

The bed was just as comfortable as Barry remembered.

He had had to change the sheets and air out the entire place to get rid of most of the dust, but the rest of the cleaning could wait until another day. Now, Barry just wanted to sleep, despite technically _just_ having woken up from nine consecutive months of sleep.

It still felt sort of like home. Something was missing, of course. _Someone._ Mick and Len weren’t there to lay beside him, to surround him. There was no smell of Lens shower gel that he yelled at Mick for using because it was _his_ , there was no sound of Mick’s heart beating, and there was no warmth from them both wrapping themselves around him.

Barry was just…alone.


	8. Dear Father, Forgive Me

_Title from: Remember Everything, by Five Finger Death Punch_

 

"How is your family taking the news?" Doctor Snow, Caitlin, asked, looking up from her tablet. "They must be happy that you’re awake."

Barry shrugged. The suit made him feel ridiculous and it itched like hell, but he knew it was necessary for the tests.

"I wouldn’t know." he said as he turned to the long airstrip ahead of him.

"You haven’t talked to them?" Caitlin asked.

"No." Barry said. "Things are…complicated."

"Barry, they’re your fa-"

"Can we get this over with?" Barry interrupted.

He kneeled down on the ground, taking up a good starting position.

Caitlin didn’t say another word.

Barry took off down the airstrip when given the signal.

_Holy crap…_

The world was rushing by at a million miles per second. The electricity sparked through Barry’s body. He was certain that he had never before felt so… _everything!_ God, he felt alive! His heart pounded and the air rushed into his lungs and past his face, biting at his limbs with cold teeth. This was amazing! How was this possible?! Oh, he didn’t even care anymore! It was happening and he was moving so incredibly fast!

_Nora screaming, the lightning flashing around him, the sound of Henry shouting for him to run!_

_Len pushing him away, Micks hand landing across his face, Lisa smiling at him before it all went wrong, Lewis’ disgusting smirk!_

_Everyone screaming in his ear and the flashing and Henry and Nora and Mick and Len, what was happening?_

A shout escaped Barry as he exploded into the barrels of water, before his world went black.

*

Caitlin and Wells were both yelling at him.

Caitlin kept going on about how he had to be more careful and to stay focused, and not get himself hurt. Wells went on and on about how Barry’s injuries were his own fault for losing focus and not taking things seriously and _whatever!_ Barry was seriously sick of listening to them.

“Enough!” Barry shouted as he stood up, snatching his half-bandaged hand away from Caitlin.

They stared at him with big eyes.

“I am _so done_ with listening to you yell at me!” Barry shouted. “I _just_ woke up from a coma and I apparently have superpowers somehow, so excuse me for not really having my head in the game!”

He pulled the gauze from his wrist, throwing it aside.

“Screw this.” he huffed at them. “I’m going home.”

Barry grabbed his jacket and headed for the door, leaving them to watch him go.

“We’ll continue testing tomorrow, Mister Allen.” Wells said behind him. “Get some rest.”

Barry stopped. Oh, he wanted to fucking _punch Wells in the goddamn face_. But he settled for speeding out of S.T.A.R Labs, patting out the cinders on his sleeve when he stopped again.

*

People stared at him as he walked into the precinct.

Barry supposed it was time to let Joe know he was awake, though Iris had probably already told him she had seen Barry outside Jitters.

Joe was out of the bullpen just moments after Barry left the elevator. Joe’s arms were around him before he could even react. Barry was…uncomfortable. Joe must have had a lot of time to think about things while Barry was in the coma. He must have forgiven Barry his outburst, and the silent treatment that followed it.

“Oh, God, Barr.” Joe said as he finally held Barry at an arms-length. “I’m so glad to see you. Are you okay? When d’you wake up? Iris said she saw you yesterday but I wasn’t sure if I believed her.”

“I…she did.” Barry admitted.

He rolled his shoulders, shaking off Joes hands. Thankfully, Joe made no attempt to grab him again.

“I just needed some time. Wrap my head around it, I guess.” he said. “I’m sorry. I should’ve come to see you right away.”

Joe exhaled heavily, nodding at his boy. “Yes, you should’ve.” he said, but his voice was lacking in any sort of accusation. “But I understand, Barry. This was hard for you.”

Barry nodded. “Yeah.” he said lowly. “I just came to say that I’m moving my stuff out again.”

“Really?” Joe asked. “To where? Your landlord’s already found a new tenant, kid. And you can stay with me and Iris for as long as you need, Barry. You know that, right?”

“Yeah. I have a place.” Barry said flatly. His hands were shaking. He shoved them into his pockets to hide it. “I need some space. All this stuff’s just… _messing with my head_. And I think I need some time to myself.”

His…father figure exhaled softly, seeming disappointed by Barry’s decision, but nodded at him. “Okay. But you can come home any time you want. And there’s always a seat for you at the dinner table.” he said.

“Yeah.” Barry said lowly. “Thanks, Joe. Tell Iris I’ll come see her soon. I just…”

“Need some time.” Joe completed for him with a smile. “Sure thing.”

_“Hey, Joe!”_

Barry and the Detective both looked after the voice. Barry recognized Detective Thawne, who smiled and waved at him and Joe as he approached.

“Got a lead on Mardon!” Thawne said then as he headed past them to the elevator.

“Coming, Eddie.” Joe said, then looked back at Barry for a moment. “Take all the time you need, Barr. Just remember to take care of yourself, okay?”

Barry didn’t have time to say anything in return before Joe hurried after Eddie, who was holding the elevator for him. Barry was quite happy with how that had gone; Joe was surprisingly supportive. Well, he supposed he wasn’t surprised. Joe was one of the most supportive people Barry had ever met.

Barry’s phone rang. He almost didn’t answer when he saw Caitlin’s name popping up on the screen.

“Caitlin, I’m really not in the mood right no-“

“Barry! There’s another Meta-Human in the city! We’ve been trying to track him, and Cisco thinks he’s found him!” she spoke rapidly. “He robbed a bank yesterday and killed two people! We need your help!”


	9. I Don’t Feel a Thing for You

_Title from: Novocaine, by Fall Out Boy_

 

Clyde Mardon wasn’t much of a fight.

It took Barry a little while, but he took Mardon down in the end, with Joe’s help.

Barry got out of there before Joe had time to question him on who he was. As of yet, only the ‘team’ at S.T.A.R Labs knew his identity beneath the mask. He liked it that way, though. Mardon had made them all realize that Barry wasn’t the only one affected by the particle accelerator explosion. Wells and the team had hypothesised that there were potentially more people affected, but there hadn’t been any conclusive evidence.

Mardon was the evidence they had searched for, and he had also proved that not every Meta-Human was as kindly inclined as Barry was. Meaning, that they may choose to use their new-found powers for means that were less than good.

As long as no one else knew about Barry, they couldn’t be used against him.

*

“Do I really need to wear this suit?” Barry asked for the millionth time. “It itches.”

Cisco chuckled at him, checking Barry’s readings on his tablet. “Well, you’ll go all Human Torch if you don’t, but, y’know, that’s up to you.” he said with a smile.

Barry hummed and pulled the cowl back to release his head. He still hadn’t gotten used to the way it sort of clenched around his skull. Cisco had promised him the material would loosen up with wear, but Barry had yet to notice any difference. Then again, he had only been the Streak, as the people had taken to calling him, for about a week.

“Can we at least change the colour?” Barry asked.

“Dude!” Cisco exclaimed, sounding scandalized as ever. “The red is iconic! It’s Iron Man red, how can you _not_ like it?”

Barry shrugged, and pulled down the zipper to get out of the suit. “I don’t know.” he said. “I think maybe a darker colour would be better. Black. Dark blue, maybe.”

Cisco harrumphed at him but conceded. “I’ll see what I can do.” he said. “You’re the one wearing it, I guess.” he said and shuffled out of the room to allow Barry some privacy as he undressed.

*

After Mardon, there was Black and Nimbus.

Barry fought for all the good thing he could think of; for Joe and Iris, for Henry and the memory of Nora, for Caitlin and Cisco and Wells, for a whole city of innocent people.

But there was this… _divide_ inside of him.

Barry cared, but it didn’t feel real. His concern and his worry didn’t feel genuine. At times, it didn’t feel as if he was on the right side of the fight.

He had seen how people looked at him; they were afraid of him, of what he could do. They feared that he was just like Nimbus and Mardon and Black and any other Meta-Human out there. That he was bad. That he would hurt them.

Even Caitlin and Cisco were afraid of him; he had seen that too, they thought he didn’t notice the way they looked at him sometimes. Caitlin always seemed tense around him, and Cisco was fidgety and nervous. Just being near them made them uncomfortable. Wells seemed un-phased by Barry. Perhaps he was just better at hiding it, his mask of professionalism obscuring Barry’s view of the Doctors true emotions.

Honestly, though, Barry couldn’t blame them.

They didn’t know him. They didn’t know what he had been through, any of it. They may have read about it, heard about it on the news, but _they didn’t know._

No one did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fuck, man, this whole story makes me so sad...  
> I'm in the middle of writing this pretty emotional chapter, and I really just needed a break from the feels so I thought I'd take the opportunity to post another chapter for you :)  
> <3


	10. It’s Better to Burn than to Fade Away

_Title from: Nicotine, by Panic! At the Disco_

 

_"Mick, you need to go to the hospital." Len said sternly._

_Mick shook his head. He made a low noise of pain as the movement pulled on his sore skin._

_"Look at yourself, Mick! You’re a mess, you need help!" Len argued. "I can’t do anything more! You need a doctor!"_

_"Then go get one!" Mick shouted and ignored the pain. "I told you! I ain’t goin’ to no hospital!"_

_Mick was hurt badly, and Len knew that he knew it. Len knew that he knew he needed a hospital. Len was tempted as hell to knock his ass out and call an ambulance, get them to keep him asleep until they could tie him up in a bed. It sounded horrible and Len hated the thought of doing that to him, but there was no other way it seemed. Mick was a stubborn bastard who couldn’t accept help._

_"Where you goin’?" the arsonist asked as Len grabbed his jacket and headed for the door._

_Len stopped._

_He took a deep breath._

_He turned back around._

_"Either you go to a hospital, or I leave."_

_"What?"_

_Len took another deep breath. He was shaking, but he tried his hardest not to show it._

_"You heard me." Len said. "Either you go to a hospital._ Or I leave _. Your choice."_

_Mick stared at him for a moment._

_Len could almost see the wheels turning in his head. He was smarter than given credit for._

_Mick looked away._

_Tears wet Lens eyes._

_He hated this! Fucking Mick being so fucking stubborn all the time! Couldn’t he, just this once, get it through his thick head that Len was trying to help?!_

_The door slammed behind Len as he left._

_*_

_Barry’s not-quite-corpse was not at the hospital._

_The nurse that he questioned said he had been moved to a private facility._

_Len trashed the room and punched through a window, before security dragged him out of the hospital._

_*_

_Mick was not there when Len returned to their temporary home._

_Of course Len would come back. Of course._ Of course! _How could he not? How could he have just left when Mick was so badly hurt?_

_But he wasn’t there. He was gone and as was all trace of him ever being there._

_So Len left again._

_He left not only their temporary home, but the city as well. There was nothing for him there anymore._

_*_

_There was a string of unexplained fires throughout Central City the following week._

_Len knew who had caused them._

_He could see, without a doubt, all the rage and the hate that Mick could muster._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MY EMOTIONS


	11. Now There’s Nothing but Rage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyo!  
> In case you didn't know, there's a playlist that contains all the songs (in order) that I've taken my chapter titles from! Have a listen if you will, maybe you'll discover some new music! :)  
> http://tinyurl.com/troublefollows

_Title from: Lift Me Up, by Five Finger Death Punch ft. Rob Halford (of Judas Priest)_

 

The punching bag was threadbare before Barry had even started using it. Now, it was close to splitting open every time he touched it. He would have to get a new one soon.

He remembered watching Lisa beat up on it a few times. She had shown him a few moves, taught him to throw a proper punch and land a decent kick.

He was far from a master. After starting to get some control over his new powers, which were still hard to wrap his head around, Barry had signed up for a few classes at a couple different gyms. Whenever he wasn’t at S.T.A.R Labs with the team, he was mostly at the gym, working on his skills. If he was going to keep fighting Meta-Humans, he would need to be able to actually fight. He didn’t have a job anymore, so he didn’t really have much else to do with his time.

Plus, it offered a good distraction.

He was distracted from all the bad memories. All the _shit_ he had waded through to get to that very moment he was in.

Nora?

_Taken!_

Henry?

_Taken!_

Lisa?

_Taken!_

Len?

_Taken!_

Mick?

_Taken!_

_Everyone he loved was taken away from him!_

He couldn’t love a single person, because if he did they would be stolen from him and he would once again be a broken _shell_ of a person! He would be all alone again and there would be _no one_ for him!

Barry’s fist went through the rough fabric and the sand poured out over his feet and the floor.

His phone rang behind him. Barry got his hand out of the bag, releasing another flood of sand, and flashed over to the table he had tossed the phone onto earlier.

“Hey, Cisco, what’s up?” Barry asked as he put the phone on speaker, using the moment to get the gloves off his hands.

“Barry! There’s a robbery in progress, an armoured truck!” Cisco shouted at him. “Suit up! East side of town, I’ll guide you!”

“Got it!”

Barry was in his new black suit in less than a second, and racing eastwards.

*

The attack was well-coordinated, planned with precision. Barry could see that the moment he got there.

The driver and the second guard both looked fine, unhurt at least, so Barry focused on the assailants. Three stood around outside, while the fourth was inside the truck. Barry knocked the three masked men over in a hail of lightning. Without stopping, he ran into the truck and grabbed the fourth by the back of his black jacket, throwing him down on the street.

_Bang!_

Barry skid to a stop as the gunshot rang though the air. He watched one of the guards fall to the ground, the blood already spurting out of the wound on his back. The thieves used his moment of distraction to get back on their bikes.

“Barry, what happened?” Cisco shouted in his ear.

“A guard got shot!” Barry called back, eyes darting back and forth between the guard and the thieves speeding away down the street. “They’re getting away!”

“Get the guard, Barry!” Caitlin ordered.

“But they’re getting away!” Barry argued, going to run after the thieves.

 _“Barry!”_ the Doctor roared at him. “He could _die!”_

Barry growled to himself. “ _Goddamn it!_ ” he swore lowly, but turned on his toes and grabbed the guard as he ran past him.

*

“Barry!”

The supposed hero sighed as the Doctor stormed into the Cortex.

“What?” he asked, voice dripping in exasperation.

She had barely came within a few feet of him before the slap landed across his face.

“What were you thinking?!” she yelled at him. “How could you even _think_ about leaving that man to bleed out?! Just to chase after some- _some lowlife thieves_?! He could’ve died, Barry! What were you thinking?!” she repeated.

Barry exhaled heavily, dropping himself into an unoccupied chair as Cisco and Wells came into the Cortex as well. They were all looking at him so judgementally, and Barry wanted to punch something.

“Yes, Mister Allen,” Wells said as he came to a stop beside Caitlin. “-I would also like to know _why,_ exactly, you thought getting these thieves arrested was more important than helping a _seriously injured man_.”

Barry scoffed at him. “Maybe because I am not a glorified ambulance.” he bit venomously. “My job, is to stop criminals.”

“Yeah, and to save people!” Cisco added.

He sighed again as he ran his hands over his face. Barry was _so tired_ of these righteous and judgy lectures that they were prone to lay on him. This was getting on his last nerve.

Barry got up, ignoring the way they looked at him as he headed for the door.

“Barry! We’re just trying to help!” Cisco called after him. “We’re your friends!”

“No, you’re not!” Barry shouted, flashing back across the room. He was nearly nose to nose with the engineer. “ _We,_ are not friends. _We_ , have never been friends. You’re just some people who decided that I was some kinda hero, and you wanted in on the action. You, Cisco, are annoying. You never stop, you never shut up, and for _fuck’s sake_ , will you just _stop it_ with the nicknames?”

He turned his eye to Caitlin.

“Caitlin, you’re sweet, you really are.” he said softly. “But I swear, you are the most judgemental person I have ever met and I am _sick_ of you looking at me like I’m some kinda freak.”

And then on to Wells.

“And you?” he said with a humourless chuckle. “I’ve wanted to punch you in the face since the moment I woke up. For every day that passes, I more and more want to break the rest of your spine. Find another hero. _I’m done.”_

Once more he headed for the door. God, he was so _angry!_ Why couldn’t they just have let him go after the thieves? He could have crashed their bikes, stall them long enough for the police to arrive! It wasn’t like he had planned to run all four of them all the way across the city!

“Barry.” Cisco said lowly. He sounded quite...sad. “Th-that suit belongs to S.T.A.R Labs. You can’t take it with you.”

Barry huffed at him, but didn’t deign to even slow down.

“You want it?” he asked. “Come and get it.”

He was gone in a flash of lightning.


	12. A Fortune in Feelings

_Title from: Cold as Ice, by Foreigner_

 

He ran past a sporting goods store on the way home. Barry grabbed one of the punching bags they had on display and left a ball of crumpled up bills with the cashier on the way out. He desperately needed something to hit, and seeing as his own punching bag had broken not an hour earlier…

But when he got back to the garage, it was as if all urge just to _live_ had been sucked out of him.

Barry dropped the bag at the door, not even bothering to hang it up. He walked, at a normal human pace, to the bedroom. He pulled the cowl back and sighed out a breath of… _everything_ that was inside him. The zipper on the front of the suit was a gift from God; Barry dragged it down and the suit all but fell off his body. He kicked off the boots, stepping out of his suit finally.

His shoulders felt so heavy, as if a ton of bricks rested on them. He was weighed down by his own body. He wanted to collapse and hit the cold concrete floor face first.

The ‘ _hero’_ walked on, though. He shuffled into the empty bedroom. Tears nearly filled his eyes when he laid eyes on his bed. It was the bed where he, such a long time ago, had made love to the two men he loved most deeply in the world.

Barry crawled in under the heavy down covers, burying his head under the mass of pillows to shield his eyes from daylight.

And, seemingly without a second of delay, Barry fell asleep.

*

The phone rang.

It was on the nightstand beside Barry’s bed, but he couldn’t for the life of him remember putting it there. He stretched his hand out and felt over the small side table; something clattered as it was knocked over, but Barry found his phone after a moment. He was honestly too tired to care who was calling, and answered just to shut the damn phone up.

“What?” he murmured, his voice still drunk on sleep.

“Barry! It’s Caitlin!”

Barry almost hung up right then.

“Don’t hang up! The thieves hit the museum! They got the diamond they were after in the truck, and there’s been reports of gunfire!”

Barry exhaled at her. “I said I’m done.” he said. “I want nothing to do with y-“

“Joe’s there!”

Barry was back in his suit and out of the garage in the blink of an eye.

*

There was mayhem in the museum.

People were terrified. They were running for their lives, parents clutching their children to their chests.

But there was no Joe.

Eddie was there, though!

Barry grabbed him by the jacket and held him tight, nearly lifting him off the ground.

“Where are they?!” Barry questioned, blurring his face and masking his voice. “Tell me!”

“T-Theater!” Eddie answered.

It seemed like a reflex response; there was no way he would have told Barry unless his head wasn’t in the right place. It was good enough, though. Barry let go of the Detective and flashed back out the way he had come.

The theatre was in shambles as well.

“Freeze!”

That was Joe’s voice!

Barry ran towards it. He ran with all he had because _God, please don’t take Joe too, not him, not another one! Barry couldn’t take it; he wouldn’t survive it!_

Joe! There he was!

Barry saw the pillar of blue light too. He saw it coming straight at Joe, and there was no hesitation in his mind. Barry slammed his body into Joes, throwing the Detective back and away from the light, but that put his own body in the line of fire.

The light stream hit him; ice filled his veins as he too was thrown back. It felt as if he was shattering into a million pieces when he hit the floor. All the air was gone from the world for just a moment.

There was a short laugh he recognized from…somewhere.

“Stay cool, Streak!”

The Universe was a vacuum and Barry’s lungs seemed to collapse.

That was a voice he knew. He knew it so well; it had whispered in his ear and screamed his name and begged him for more.

Barry was on his feet again.

He couldn’t think, but his body acted anyway. There was nothing in his head that controlled how his body moved, but it did anyway.

He moved through the theatre at what felt like the speed of light. _There! There he was!_ His Len, his perfect Len! Barry’s arms wrapped around him and he heard Len make a strange noise but Barry refused to stop moving. He ran and he ran until he couldn’t run any further, then he stopped. Barry stopped and he let Len shove him back and raise his strange weapon at Barry’s body. Another stream of bright blue light came out of his weapon, and Barry fell back again.

Once again his insides turned into ice, and a pained shout left his mouth.

_“Barry?!”_


	13. A Few Mistakes Ago

_Title from: I Knew You Were Trouble, by We Came As Romans_

_(Originally by T_ _aylor Swift)_

 

_“Tell me again why you’re doing this job.”_

_Len sighed at his sister. He kept his eyes on his papers, checking his math again in his head. The pillow hit him in the back of the head, nearly making him smash his face into the table._

_“Will you stop it?” Len said. He picked the pillow up from the floor and threw it back in her general direction. “I’m busy.”_

_“Well, then tell me why!” she sassed back at him._

_He could hear her getting off the couch; her heels clicked against the hardwood floor and the chair scraped as she sat down beside him._

_“You do know I’m not gonna quit until you tell me, right?” she said._

_Len looked at her finally. Instead of the joking and mocking smirk he had expected, she simply smiled so softly, in a way that no one but Len ever got to see. She already knew what this was about, and Len knew it and he knew that she knew that he knew. But she wanted him to say it; to physically say it out loud to her, for some reason that he couldn’t figure out._

_“It’s for…” he said, though his voice failed him._

_“For who?” Lisa asked. “For Barry?”_

_Len could do nothing but nod._

_“Even after what he did?” she asked._

_Her voice was just as soft as her smile. Len remembered looking up at their mother, and that she looked back with that exact smile._

_“Yes.” Len said._

_He sounded less determined than he would have liked._

_“Even after that, I still…”_

_“You still love him.” Lisa supplied._

_Her hand came to rest on his. He moved his hand slightly, allowing him to take hers fully._

_“And Mick?” she asked._

_It was a questioned Len dreaded. Yes,_ and Mick? _What about Mick? Was he still angry?_

 _What Barry did, it had just made Mick so unbelievably_ angry. _Len hadn’t seen him like that in years. The hate and the rage burned inside him._ It poisoned him! _It made him so focused on the object of his rage, Barry, that everything else ceased to exist. Honestly, Len was a little surprised that Mick hadn’t burned down the hospital just to kill Barry, or Joe Wests house just to hurt Barry in an unspeakable way. To hurt him by killing his sister and his father figure. To take from Barry what Barry had, in Micks mind, taken from him; the people he loved._

_Mick was angry, Len understood that but Len just wanted them all to be together again. He wanted them to get back to how things had been._

_Maybe, this could at least get them on the road back to that._


	14. Hate Me for The Things I've Done

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey!  
> Here's a link to a playlist for the fic, with all the songs I've taken my chapter titles from!  
> http://tinyurl.com/troublefollows

_Title from: Reincarnate, by Motionless in White_

 

 _Ah, fuck…_ Barry’s body ached.

There was a muffled clatter of metal hitting the ground, followed by the sound of someone running toward him. Then Len was right there next to him, leaning over him with _so much concern_ in his eyes.

“Barry!” he called. “Barry, can you hear me?!”

He groaned as Len lifted his head for him and pulled the cowl back from his face. Cold fingers on Barry’s neck, and a hand clapping him on the cheek to keep him awake.

“Barry, c’mon! Stay with me!” Len shouted at him.

Was…was Len crying? Were those tears slowly creeping down his cheeks?

“You need to stay awake, Barry. Barry, please, just stay awake!” Len begged. _“Fuck_! What do I do? _What do I do?!”_

Barry’s teeth were clattering, his whole body shaking because it was _so cold!_ The ice seemed to be crawling in under his skin and chilling him all the way through.

“S-S-S-S.T.A.R!” Barry cried out. “S.T.A.R L-L-Labs!” he stammered.

“Okay! Okay, S.T.A.R Labs, you need to go there?” Len asked, pleading to Barry for any instruction.

Len didn’t think that he had ever in his life felt so lost and confused. This was wrecking his mind! Barry was the Streak? Barry had _superpowers?_

Barry nodded as best he could, pulling his limbs in close to his body in an attempt to retain heat. _God, it was so fucking cold! He couldn’t think! He couldn’t form any thoughts or sentences and barely words at all!_

He was actually mildly relieved when he passed out.

_FUCK!_

Barry was literally dying in his arms, and Len was completely lost! He had to do something! He had to get Barry to S.T.A.R Labs for whatever reason. Barry told him to go there and Len would have to trust him on it. There was nothing else he could do!

Len heard a strange crackling from Barry’s cowl. Voices?

Len searched through the cowl, finding the earpiece that was embedded into the leather-like fabric.

“Hello?” he said as he placed the piece into his own ear.

“Who is this?” a man asked. “Where’s Barry? What happened?”

“I-I-I-I didn’t mean to, it was an accident, I-I-I d-didn’t know it was him!” Len said as quickly as he could, his voice shaking with the fear for Barry’s life.

“It’s okay. Take a deep breath, and tell me exactly what happened.” a woman said then. “I’m a doctor. Just tell me everything!”

Len nodded to himself. He took a breath as deep as he could. He was shaking too, the tears pouring endlessly from his eyes.

“I-I was at the museum a-and he grabbed me and ran out!” he tried to explain. “I didn’t know it was him! H-He let me go and I shot him and _fuck, he’s dying!”_

“Shit! Cisco, get the van!” the woman cursed, sounding as if she was talking to someone on her own side of the com-unit. “Stay where you are! We’re on our way.”


	15. Don’t Take Love Off the Table Yet

_Title from: Death Valley, by Fall Out Boy_

 

Len carried Barry. He was tucked in close to Lens chest, wrapped in Lens parka. His teeth were still clattering despite the fact that he was passed out. It was a good sign though. He was alive, at least. The ice clung to his suit. They had tried their hardest to break off the worst of it in the van, but there was still so much layered onto him.

The doctor, Caitlin he believed she had said, lead the way through the halls of S.T.A.R Labs. She ran beside him, with her fingers on Barry’s neck to keep his pulse in mind. They came into the Cortex, as Caitlin had called it, and she guided him to lay Barry down on the bed that awaited them. Once he had let go of Barry, Cisco, another doctor maybe, Len wasn’t sure of his title or name, dragged him away to give Caitlin and the man in the wheelchair room to work.

Fuck, Len couldn’t watch this. He couldn’t just stand there and watch Barry be so close to death _again!_ And this time, the blame was solely and unmistakably on Lens shoulders.

Len walked out into the hallway, and kept walking until he couldn’t hear the doctors shouting over Barry’s body.

*

“Hey, uh…guy!”

The voice seemed to come from inside the walls.

“Yeah, sorry, didn’t catch your name.” the man, it sounded like that Cisco kid, said quickly. “Barry’s awake. Kinda. He’s not really…lucid.”

Len took a deep breath, wiping his cheeks on his sleeves. He had to be strong, not only for Barry but for himself. He had to stay strong now; he may need to deal with bad news.

He headed back in the direction he had come from. Time didn’t seem to pass. It was as if he was walking in place, the grey hallways stretching out into infinity. But Len walked on, he knew that sooner or later he would get back to the Cortex.

“Wh-…where am I?”

That was Barry’s voice! Len couldn’t, and didn’t want to, stop himself when his body began to run without his permission. A moment later, he skid into the Cortex and rushed to be at Barry’s bedside.

“Barry!” he let out along with a heavy breath of relief. “Oh, God, you’re okay. You’re alive.”

The kid made a weird noise, his head lolling from side to side.

“What’s wrong with him?”

“He was in quite some pain, so I’m pumping in a steady stream of pain killers.” Caitlin explained with a soft voice. “His metabolism is so fast that it burns it off unless it’s a constant flow. But he heals fairly quickly, so hopefully the worst of it has passed.”

The man in the wheelchair rolled a little closer, placing himself in between Len and Caitlin. As if he feared Len would hurt her, or that Cisco guy.

“Why don’t we get some introductions?” he posed. “I am Doctor Harrison Wells. This is Doctor Caitlin Snow, and Cisco Ramon. We’ve been helping Mister Allen ever since he woke up from his coma.”

Len nodded, but looked back down at his Barry.

“I’m…Len.” he said lowly.

Barry had a dopey look on his face, the drugs messing with his head. “Lenny!” he shouted as if he just then recognized him. “Lenny-Len-Len! I missed you!”

Len smiled and gladly took the hand that Barry reached out to touch him with. “Yeah, it’s me. I’m right here, Barry.” he said softly. “I missed you too, Barr.”

The smile on Barry’s face began to twist into a sad look, as tears welled up in his eyes. “I’m so sorry.” he said, the drugs obviously tossing his emotions around. _“I’m so sorry, Lenny!_ I love you! I love you so much, I’m sorry!”

“It’s okay, Barry!” Len promised, squeezing his hand tightly. “It’s okay, I love you too. It’s okay. Just…just try and get some sleep, okay?”

“But I never meant to do that to you!” Barry continued.

His head was all over the place. Fuck, these drugs were screwing him up, _big time!_ His body felt like it was melting, and his limbs were like jelly and flopped around without his control.

“I didn’t wanna hurt you or Mick or Lisa, but _fuck!_ ” he babbled. “I fucking love you and all this stuff is messing with me, but God, I wanna go back now to then and just fucking kick my own ass and go with you after the hospital and everything!”

“Barry, Barry,” Len tried, doing his best to get the speedster to focus a little. “-it’s okay! It’s okay, just get some sleep. Doctor Snow, can you sedate him?”

The doctor nodded quickly and scurried around to Barry’s other side as the kid rambled on, his babbles getting less and less coherent. She injected a syringe-full of a clear liquid into Barry’s IV. It took a few moments, but Barry faded into sleep and Len hummed over him. Barry seemed quite pleased with the slow melody, smiling up at Len with wonder in his eyes.

Finally, Barry was asleep.


	16. I'm a God, Motherfucker, and It's Judgement Day

_Title from: Undead, by Hollywood Undead_

 

“Who are you really?”

It was Cisco’s voice that broke the silence. It had been quiet since Barry’s eyes had fallen closed. Len had hoped it would last longer, that moment; that he could stand there with Barry’s hand in his, and his fingers lost in the kid’s hair. He loved that moment deeply and truly, in a way that he loved very few things.

“Yes,” Wells added. “-I too am curious.”

Lens heart hammered against his chest.

“I think it’s time I leave.” Len said.

He grabbed his parka, it rested over an empty chair not far from Barry’s bed, and threw it on. His hands easily slid into the pockets, where he felt the Cold Gun in the right. He was glad the pockets were so deep, the Gun fit perfectly and remained out of sight enough that no one would pay it any mind.

“I’ll leave a number. Call me when he wakes up again.” he added.

He took a step towards the door, but stopped again when Wells held up a hand at him.

Len drew the Gun and fired at burst at the man.

Caitlin and Cisco screamed as the ice enveloped the doctors entire body. There was a look of pain permanently, and literally, frozen onto his face. His skin and clothes and every part of him turned a pale, disgusting blue, ice crystals building up over him.

Len smirked to himself, walking over to the frozen man. Though the sight of the doctor was horrifying, Len forced the confident look to remain on his face. He compelled his smirk to stay firmly on his lips. He couldn’t show weakness. He could _never_ show weakness.

Cisco and the doctor were, figuratively, frozen in place when Len turned the gun on them.

“Doctor Snow. Take care of my Barry.” he ordered, jerking his head in the direction of the speedster’s unconscious body. “Mister Ramon. Have a seat.”

Caitlin ran over to Barry’s side, tears pouring down her face, as Cisco sat down in the empty chair, he too crying as quietly as he could.

“You said he heals quickly.” Len said, and Caitlin nodded. “How long until he’s healed?”

She wiped her cheeks, clearing her throat. “I-I-I don’t know.” she stammered nervously. “Rough estimate? A few hours until he’s well enough to move on his own.”

“And how many is _a few?”_ Len asked, raising the Gun in a threatening way.

The woman whined softly, forcing the tears back. “Three. M-Maybe four.” she said.

Len hummed. “Then we are going to sit here for four hours.” he said coolly, but lowered the Gun again. “And if you sit still and don’t make a sound, you will both get to go home afterwards. Got it?”

They both nodded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> JUST GO WITH IT OKAY JUST GO WITH IT
> 
> (EDIT:  
> This chapter has been slightly edited, changing Wells' death-scene. This was done for purposes in the next part of this fic series. It will become clear why this was altered somewhere in the fic, so don't worry about it :) )


	17. Let Hope Burn in Your Eyes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a playlist link! Check it out! <3  
> http://tinyurl.com/troublefollows

_Title from: Stockholm Syndrome, by Muse_

 

The news had been playing in the background; just some white noise to help him fall asleep.

It had been some report on a new exhibit at the museum or something, Mick hadn’t really been listening. At least not until the commotion started; cops shouting for someone to freeze and get on their knees, then gunfire and the widespread panic of the masses.

It made Mick sit up. He snatched the remote off the coffee table and turned up the volume, eyes instantly focused on the screen.

The footage was wobbly and blurry; the cameraman was obviously running from the shoot-out. But _that_ , was an unmistakable face. It was on screen for just a second, but Mick caught it. He was glad for having installed one of those fancy new TVs, which let him pause and rewind live programs. He had to do it over and over until he paused at the perfect moment; the moment where Lens face was in the shot.

He was smiling wickedly, as always, but he wore a strange jacket and a pair of goggles that Mick didn’t recognize. New gimmick? Just Lens style, really. He always had to be so fucking special.

Mick let the news keep playing. The reporter was talking quickly, describing everything that was happening. She talked about Len, or _'the unidentified man'_ , running out of the museum with the police on his heels. Mick knew Len, he would have a car waiting or at least figured out how to lose them on foot.

Then suddenly this _Streak_ character was there. His black suit seemed to be almost on fire, the yellow lightning dancing around his body.

If he was there, Len would be in police custody soon.

Mick grabbed his phone and dialled the last number he had for Len. He hoped Len had kept the phone. Maybe he was sentimental enough to hope that Mick would contact him.

No answer.

_Shit!_

Mick threw the cheap flip phone across the room. It hit the wall above the TV, exploding into a million pieces. Mick didn’t care. He was gone before the last piece hit the floor.

If the Streak laid one hand on Len, Mick would _break it off_.


	18. You Got Two Black Eyes from Loving Too Hard

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out the playlist I made for this fic! <3  
> http://tinyurl.com/troublefollows

_Title from: LA Devotee, by Panic! At The Disco_

 

"Len!"

Lens heart sped up at the call of his name. That voice… _it couldn’t be_. Mick?

"Len! You here?!" the arsonist shouted.

His voice echoed through the empty halls. Len got up quickly, running into the hallway.

"Mick!" he shouted back. "Mick, I’m here!"

Micks steps thundered through the halls, his heavy boots seemingly rocking the building all the way to its foundation. He was on a warpath and Len could hear it.

Finally, _finally_ , after an eternity of waiting, he turned a corner and came into sight. His eyes found Len, and he did everything but slow down. He nearly tackled Len to the floor, throwing his arms around the other criminal. The embrace was so firm and strong. Len could hardly breathe; he had missed Mick so much! It felt so incredibly good to be wrapped in his arms again.

Mick pulled back with a growl, again getting a grip on the flamethrower that hung by his hip. “Where’s this fuckin’ Streak?” he asked. “Imma break him in half!”

Len took Micks hand, the rough gloves were uncomfortable against his skin, and pulled him into the Cortex. Mick followed after, ready to unleash Hell.

Until the moment he saw the body that lay tucked into the bed in the centre of the room.

His eyes went wide. His head started to spin.

“The Streak… _is Barry?”_ he asked breathlessly.

Len nodded. He gave Mick a small push towards the bed where Barry lay. Mick didn’t fight it. He walked slowly, his body unable to move any quicker when his mind stood completely still. Barry was the Streak? How…? How could he possibly be the Streak? Innocent little Barry, thin as a stick, who couldn’t hurt a fly? Mick came to the bedside, looking down at the unconscious boy.

Because he was just a boy still; his face so soft and features so childish.

Mick hated him, but…he didn’t hate him. His head was a mess! Barry had betrayed them, yet Micks heart had ached for him every moment they had been apart. His whole body had hurt, not just because of his injuries, with the longing for both Barry and Len to be near him again, to be within his reach again.

He reached his hand out, noticing it was shaking slightly, and inhaled sharply when his fingers landed on Barry’s arm. The move was tentative; as if he needed to make sure that Barry was indeed real, that it was the actual Barry laying there before him.

“And he’s…?”

“He’s alive.” Len said behind him.

Mick nodded slowly. Len hurried over Caitlin’s side, pulling the strip of duct tape off her face to let her speak.

“Can we move him?” Len asked. “We’ll take him away, and you can go home.”

Caitlin snivelled, trying to even out her breathing. “Yes. Y-You should be able to move him. As long as you keep him in bed for a-another few hours. I-I think, as h-his doctor, that h-he should stay sedated.” she said with a shaky voice. “I-If you release me, I can get you a few bags for his IV so y-you can keep him hydrated, a-and I can give you some pain killers and something to keep him asleep.”

*

“There.” Caitlin said, as she packed the IV bags and everything she had promised into a padded box.

She stepped back and allowed Len to take it.

“C-Can we go now?” she asked.

“We’ll take Barry.” Len said. “As soon as we’re gone, you can untie your friend and do whatever you please.”

The woman let out a soft breath. She walked ahead of Len back into the Cortex, giving Cisco a short smile to reassure him. She helped Mick get Barry into his arms, making sure that he was supporting Barry’s head in such a way to ease air- and blood flow and that the IV line was unobstructed. On Lens order, she sat back down.

“Count to one hundred.” he said, smirking again. “Then, you can get up. Just to give us a head start. Ready to go, Mick?”

“Lead the way.” Mick said, smiling for the first time since arriving.


	19. I Feel You Feed My Desire

_Title from: Oh My Heart, by Night Riots_

 

Barry was floating.

Everything was so… _soft_. And _comfy_ and _warm._ Like he was wrapped in the thickest down cover, and laying on a bed of clouds. _Fuck_ , how could he possibly be _this fucking comfortable­?_ Like, really though, _wow_.

But, he was awake now, and that he was painfully aware of.

Shitty fucking shit, what the fuck was it with these goddamn covers and why would they not release him from their clutches? Barry battled against the cover-monster for a minute before he could kick it off of himself. He rolled out of bed with a pained groan. Woah, what the hell? What happened last night? His whole body was sore and generally ache-y. _Jesus_ , he needed a smoke to settle _that_ headache.

He snatched up the shirt that lay on the floor near the bed, dragging it over his head with another short grunt. He found a pair of boxers too. He may live on the outskirts of the city but Barry wasn’t exactly planning on waltzing around the street butt-naked here either. His cigarettes were on the nightstand as always, along with his trusty zippo.

The sound of his bare feet padding across the cold concrete was soft and muted. Still, it bounced around the place nonetheless since there was no other noise to mask it. It was barely light out when Barry stepped through the back of the garage to the small junkyard there. The ashtray balancing on the windowsill not far from the door was practically overflowing. Barry lit his cigarette and took a deep breath.

This was nice.

*

The door burst open. Barry choked on the breath of smoke, coughing roughly. His insides seemed to clench at the burn and the stinging smoke made his eyes wet.

“Barry!”

He looked up as best he could, but the coughing was making it hard focus. Despite it, his heart raced, even more, when he saw it was-

 _“Mick?”_ Barry said in a gravelly voice.

“Hell yeah!” the arsonist shouted, stomping at him and seemingly towering over him even though they were just as tall. “And you scared the shit outta me! I come out the crapper and you’re gone! Damn near had a heart attack!”

Barry tossed his cigarette into the dirt as the cough began to clear and he could breathe again.

“I-I-I…you’re here!” he said.

_What the fuck was happening?_

Mick was _there_ and he was acting like…nothing ever happened? Barry was completely confused.

“Wha-…? What happened?” Barry asked.

Mick forewent answering; instead, he lay his heavy hand on Barry’s shoulder and pulled him in. Barry all but fell into Mick’s chest, and the arsonist fit absolutely perfectly around him. Then Barry was unceremoniously let go, Mick taking a step back.

“Ya need to get back inside, Barry.” he said sternly. “Need to eat somethin’, and rest a while longer.”

*

This was…strange.

Barry sat in his _their?_ bed, wrapped in the covers again. Mick had tucked him in then hurried out again. After a few minutes, he returned with a tray in his hands. He set the tray in Barry’s lap, and Barry nearly laughed. A bowl of canned alphabet soup, two slices of charred toast, and a cup of hot coffee. Not much, considering Barry’s new diet, but he didn’t say a word about it. Mick had obviously tried to get something together quickly, so it would do for now.

He ate quietly.

Mick sat across the room in a chair that he must have taken from the kitchen. His arms were crossed, the long sleeve t-shirt molding to fit around his muscular limbs. Barry felt the sole focus of his eyes; they seemed to burn a hole right into Barry’s head.

When he finished, Barry set the tray on the nightstand. He had to move the lamp and a few other things, but there was just enough room for it to stay balanced there.

Then he looked up and met Micks eyes.

He looked angry beyond description.

“So…” Barry said lowly. “I…I can’t really remember much. I was…at the museum, then the theatre. And Len…Len was there.”

Mick shrugged. “Don’t know much more than you.” he muttered. “Lenny said he got some fancy ice gun from some guy, and he got you with it couple times. Your…doctor friend, the lady with the red hair?”

“Caitlin?” Barry suggested.

Mick nodded. “She fixed ya up a lil’, then we got ya outta there.” he said. “Ya been out for nearly a day now. She gave us some industrial strength horse tranqs or somethin’ to keep ya down. Let ya heal up.”

Barry hummed softly, nodding to himself. “Len’s here too?” he asked.

“’S out.” Mick said. “Gettin’ supplies and shit. Makin’ a few appearances to draw the cops away from here.”

“Sounds good.” Barry said.

He cleared his throat and attempted a small smile.

Micks glare instantly shot him down.


	20. When I Knew Loves Perfect Ache

_Title from: Arsonist’s Lullaby, by Hozier_

 

“Mick, I-“

“I should go see how Len’s doin’.” Mick interrupted, getting out of his seat. “Might need a hand.”

He walked towards the door. Lightning filled the room, swirling around him for a moment before he was thrown back into his chair. Barry stood in front of him and blocked his path.

“Will you just listen?!” Barry shouted.

Mick didn’t make a sound, but the look on his face was cold and stony. It looked as if he wanted to break something, preferably Barry. But he didn’t move either, so Barry took it as a sign to get talking before Mick changed his mind.

“I am sorry!” Barry said first, nearly shouting right in Micks face. “I am so sorry for _everything!_ I never meant to hurt you! My job was to get Lewis behind bars for the rest of his goddamn life, you were _never_ part of the plan. I wasn’t supposed to get attached to you, or to Len or Lisa! But I did. Mick,” he said sternly, making the arsonist actually look him in the eye instead of the ground. “-I love you. I fucking adore you, beyond reason, and I have _missed you!_ Mick, I have _ached_ for you.”

 _Fuck, Barry hurt so bad!_ His inside hurt with how much he hated himself for what he had done.

“And…now I know you’re alive, so you can go.” Barry said, a small smile taking over his lips despite the tears rolling down his cheeks. “You can hate me for all I care, because at least you’re alive to do it. You can _go_ , and I won’t follow you, if that’s what you want. But…if you do, I need something from you.” he said, and dried his face with the hem of his shirt.  “Just one thing, then I won’t ever bother you again.”

 _“What?!”_ Mick shouted as he shot out of his chair, making Barry step back just by the rage in his eyes. “What d’you want from me that you didn’t already take, huh?!”

He nearly ripped his shirt to pieces as he took it off, throwing it aside.

“Look at me!” he roared, Barry’s eyes drawn to Mick’s upper body. “This is _you!_ You did this to me!”

Barry couldn’t tear his eyes away.

The skin of Micks arms was mangled; the burn scars were awful. The fire had torn at his arms and chest and most likely his back too, and it looked as if the scars continued down his legs as well. Barry took a careful step closer to Mick, forcing himself to look back up at Micks face.

“And I am sorry, Mick.” he said.

His voice was strangled and strained, forced to leave his body.

Mick bit his cheek. It seemed as if he was fighting the urge to swing at Barry.

“Just say what you want so I can get outta here.” he hissed instead.

Barry nodded.

“I…”

He took a deep breath.

“Make love to me.” he said, surprised at the meekness of his own voice. “Please. Make love to me and tell me you love me because I need you. _I need you_ like I need air, and I want something _good_ to remember.” Barry said rapidly. “I can’t think about back then without getting sick with how ashamed I am. How _guilty_ I feel. I need one good memory. _One._ And then I won’t ever ask you for anything again.”

Mick didn’t say yes. But he didn’t say no either. He just…stared at Barry, silent as the grave.

Barry took a tentative step closer to him. He considered it a success, of sorts, when Mick didn’t immediately shove him back. The arsonist flinched when Barry reached out to touch his arm, and Barry quickly retracted his hand. He was surprised though, when Mick grabbed him by the wrist. Mick pulled Barry’s hand to him and placed it on his chest, where the marred and burned skin melted back into his tanned and untouched chest.

The scars felt strange under Barry’s hand. They were rough and slightly…dry. It nearly felt like leather. It didn’t, in a way though. It moved under his fingers; with every breath and every beat of his heart, the skin moved and showed that though he was a little damaged, Mick was still alive. He still persisted, despite how the fire had hurt him.

Barry raised his other hand and placed it on Micks chest as well. One on the scared side, one on the unharmed. They were so different to the touch, but both felt like...just like _Mick_ and nothing else. Barry stepped into Micks space again, coming nearly chest to chest with him, and lay his lips against Micks. It was so soft and so chaste, yet Barry wanted to cry it was so good.

Micks arms seemed to be made to wrap around Barry’s lithe body. They fit perfectly together. Barry parted his lips slightly and Mick did the same, the chaste kiss becoming anything but. _Fuck, Barry wanted it so bad!_ His hands slid down Micks chest until he reached the arsonist heavy pants, working on the button and zipper. The baggy jeans almost fell off of him once they were undone, leaving Mick in his boxers.

He was hard, Barry could feel him against his hip. Barry was hard too, and he would beg for it if Mick told him to. As Mick kicked off his boots and stepped out of his jeans, his hands travelled too. They moved from Barry’s waist to his hips to slip in under his t-shirt. _God, those callouses were so good on him! He had missed them, the rough feeling against his skin!_ For a moment, they were torn from each other, just long enough to get Barry’s shirt off of him.

Mick threw the fabric aside and wrapped an arm around Barry’s waist again. With a soft grunt of exertion, Mick lifted Barry, who caught on in an instant and locked his legs around Micks hips.

Mick had been swept up in it, all of it; with Barry so close and so wanting, Mick could forget everything for a moment. The world ceased to exist outside that room, and they were the only two people left alive. He didn’t want it to end. He hated Barry but he wanted him anyway.

The lube was in the drawer like it always was, and Mick found it without issue. They parted for a moment again, to drag their boxers down to their feet and toss them aside. Micks cock was aching with want and need and lust for Barry. He had to get the speedster ready, and quickly, because Mick wasn’t sure how much longer he could contain himself; how long before he gave up, covered Barry’s mouth, and took what they both needed.

His fingers slid into Barry like they were made for nothing else. Barry made such a beautiful sound at it, toes curling, but buried his face in a pillow. Mick adored the little whines and whimpers he drew out of Barry, moving his fingers in just the way he remembered Barry loved. He couldn’t help himself; Mick ran his free hand over Barry’s back, kissing and licking and sucking gently at it to draw even more of those beautiful sounds out of him.

“God, Mick, just go!” Barry ordered. “Just do it! _Fuck, Mick_ , I need it!”

Mick didn’t need to be told twice. He pulled his fingers out of Barry and poured a glob of lube into his hand, coating his cock just enough. Barry screamed into his pillow when Mick pushed into, his body exploding with joy that he finally had Mick inside him again. Mick breathed heavily onto Barry’s neck, every breath burning like fire.

His arms were around Barry’s body and held him incredibly close.

“Fuck, Barry, so good…” Mick muttered in his ear as he moved in and out of Barry, agonizingly slowly.

Barry was…he was gone. His head was somewhere else when Mick fit perfectly in him; when Micks body was so perfect against him and around him. Barry wanted to scream and cry and beg Mick to never stop rutting into him, to never leave him again.

He wanted it to last forever! He wanted this moment, _this singular moment where nothing was wrong in the world,_ would be the only thing he ever knew!

It was all too much; even after a year apart now, Mick knew exactly how to push every single one of Barry’s buttons. He kissed along Barry’s neck, his hands ran in nonsensical patterns over Barry’s chest, his cock filled him to the brim, and his voice whispered in his ear.

“Barry, God,” he moaned. “-fuck, I love you, love you so much. So good, so good for me like this. Beautiful.”

His hand migrated down and wrapped around Barry’s cock. Barry screamed again when he came; he saw stars and galaxies dancing around his head. Mick groaned a moment later, as he too came.

This was…perfect.


	21. I’m a World of Pain, and You’re a Safe Place

_Title from: Shelter, by Dorothy_

 

Len dropped his grocery bags in the kitchen. He unpacked them quickly, loading the goods into the cabinets and the fridge. He wondered how Barry was doing. He should be okay by now, Len thought. Snow had said he healed quickly and it had been nearly a day.

He was surprised when he tip-toed into the bedroom. Barry lay in bed, asleep, with Mick wrapped around him. Mick looked up from the back of Barry’s head when the door opened, meeting Len’s eyes. And he…he smiled sleepily.

Len stepped out of his shoes and dropped his jeans, tossing his shirt aside. He crawled in under the covers and lay close to Barry’s other side. He wrapped his arms around them both as best he could.

Then closed his eyes to sleep.


	22. Where Villains Spend the Weekend

_Title from: Vegas Lights, by Panic! At The Disco_

 

When Barry woke up, the sun was out and shining right into the bedroom through the window, nearly blinding him. Woah, they must have slept all through the afternoon and the night. And when did Len get in bed with them? Barry must have fallen asleep before then.

Barry weaselled out of bed, untangling himself from Mick and Len without waking them. They probably needed to get all the sleep they could. They had been watching over him like hawks, and most likely hadn’t gotten much sleep on the ratty old couch in the living room.

God, Barry was starving!

He suited up and headed out.

*

Mick woke up when he felt himself be grabbed and shook.

“Mick!” Len shouted, leaning over him. “Wake up!”

“’M up! ‘M up!” Mick said sleepily and sat up as best he could. “What? What’s wrong?”

“Barry’s gone!” Len said as he scrambled to get out of bed.

Mick, though confused, followed his lead. He grabbed his jeans, only getting them halfway up his legs before running after Len out of the bedroom.

“What the hell happened?” Mick asked, eyes darting around the place in search of Barry.

“I don’t know.” Len said. “I woke up and he was gone. He grabbed his Streak-suit and bolted!”

Fuck! Something must have happened. Maybe Caitlin called him, told him about what Len had done. Maybe Barry wanted nothing to do with them because of it. Len had killed that Wells guy; maybe he was important to Barry, maybe Barry had cared about him.

They nearly jumped out of their skins when a flash of lighting split the room. When they turned around, Barry sat in the kitchen. The relief flooded out of them both in a long breath. Barry sat in one of the chairs, his feet up on the table and a pizza box balancing on his tummy. There was whole stack of pizza boxes next to his feet, still so warm they were steaming. Barry chomped down on a slice and smiled at his boys.

“G’mornin’!” he said, spitting crumbs in their direction.

“You…you’re back.” Len said.

He was nearly breathless.

Barry swallowed his bite and shrugged. “Yeah? Why wouldn’t I be?” he said. “I was hungry. Got some pizza.”

“Ten boxes?” Mick said.

Barry shrugged again. “Fast metabolism. I eat a lot.” he said. “C’mon! Sit! Grab a slice.”

The criminals huffed at him, but they couldn’t deny their rumbling stomachs.

*

“So, what now?” Len asked after they had finished their breakfast.

Barry’s feet had somehow ended up in Micks lap, while Len had one leg up in Barry’s lap. It was a strangely…domestic scene; one that none of them had expected to find themselves in any time soon, or at all.

“What d’you mean?” Barry asked, tossing aside the last of the pizza boxes.

They could hardly believe scrawny little Barry had wolfed down eight of the ten pizzas all by himself, though they had just watched him do it.

“Are you going to stay on as the Streak?” Len asked as he crossed his arms over his chest. “And what about us? We’re all together again. Are we going to break it off?”

“No.” Mick said flatly. “Don’t care what you say. I came back, and I ain’t leavin’ again.”

Barry smiled. In a short crack of lightning, he appeared in Micks lap. The arsonist was surprised, jolting slightly, but smiled as well when he realized what had happened.

“Good.” Barry said. “’Cause I’m not gonna let you go every again.”

“And the Streak?” Len asked, watching them share a short kiss.

The speedster and the arsonist parted after their kiss, and Barry shrugged. “Most people don’t like him, me, anyway. No one would be surprised if I switched sides. Plus, you make being bad look _so fun.”_ he admitted. “And really, black leather screams bad boy, doesn’t it?”

The whole group laughed at that.


	23. Trouble Seems to Follow

_Title from: Save Rock And Roll, by Fall Out Boy ft. Elton John_

 

“Ready?” Len asked, eye on his watch.

“Ready.” Mick responded and adjusted his grip on his new Heat Gun again.

“Born ready!” Barry said excitedly, practically bouncing up and down.

They had adjusted his suit. They had removed the cowl, because who cared if they knew who he was? He only kept the suit so he wouldn’t catch fire every time he went for a run, might as well get comfortable.

“On my mark.” Len said.

Barry got a good grip around their waists. Len counted him down, seconds dragging on it seemed.

“Mark.”

In a flash, they stumbled to a stop right in the middle of Central City First Bank.

_Let the fun begin!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are! The end, at last!  
> I hope you all like this fic as it is, because I'm honestly not sure about the ending. To me, it feels really rushed, and I'm not sure if I wanna rewrite it or not.  
> But, for now I guess it's good. Just let me know what you think and I'll see if I can maybe throw something different together that might be a little better <3  
> Stick around though, no matter what. This series isn't over yet ;) <3
> 
> EDIT:  
> Heyo! I'm thinking about giving Barry a few tattoos in the next part. I have some ideas, but I was wondering if maybe you had any suggestions too? :D Feel free to link me pictures or anything you wanna! It'd be really cool if they could be related to events in previous parts of this series too, or maybe from canon! <3


End file.
